NORWALK : Trial Set for Ex-TV Host Accused of Murder Plot
An April 27 trial date was set Thursday for a former cable TV talk show host and his father, who allegedly tried to hire a hit man to kill a girl whose testimony eventually helped convict the younger man of rape.
Tito David Valdez Jr., 23, was sentenced on March 4 to 14 years in prison for rape and child molestation.
According to the 13-year-old girl’s testimony during the trial, the younger Valdez picked her up at her home around midnight on April 28, 1993, to interview her for a job on his program, “Hollywood Haze.” Valdez claimed it was the only time he could be free to interview her. He then took her to his Downey home and raped her.
Valdez and his father will be tried for solicitation to commit murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They allegedly paid an undercover Downey police officer to shoot the girl so she could not testify in the rape trial.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
